Myrtle Driver

Myrtle Driver is the Tribal Cultural Traditionalist in the Office of Cultural Resources of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Born and raised on the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina, she is a member of the Deer Clan. Ms. Driver studied anthropology and museum science at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, received an Honorary Fellowship to the Newberry Library, and interned in Natural History with the Smithsonian Institution. For many years she has directed the Ani-Kuwih (Mulberry) Dancers, teaching children ages 5-12 traditional dances and ceremonies of the Cherokee as well as the Cherokee language. Under her leadership the Ani-Kuwih Dancers performed for the 2006 Teachers Institute Cherokee seminar. Ms. Driver speaks the Cherokee language fluently, writes in the Sequoyah syllabary, and teaches the language in the Cherokee Language Immersion Program. She worked closely with Charles Frazier in translating into Cherokee a major section of his novel Thirteen Moons. This translation is the first work of literature in English to be translated into the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian dialect. Ms. Driver was recently recognized formally for her lifetime of dedication to her community and culture when the Tribal Council named her “Beloved Woman,” the highest honor a Cherokee woman can receive. Only five women have received this honor in the twentieth century.